


The Google Game

by NightFeather



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 07:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4130284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightFeather/pseuds/NightFeather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Future Fic: “One last try,” She said quietly, typing in her mother’s name. She hit enter, biting her bottom lip and hoping for the best.</p>
<p>In which Stella Darcy does a little Google-Snooping and finds the videos.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Google Game

           “Okay!” Stella said cheerfully, trying to motivate herself as she sat down in the cushioned reading chair in the corner of her room, “Family tree time! I can do this, the project isn’t due for another two weeks,”

            She pulled a blanket over her lap and brought her knees up, resting the edge of her laptop against her stomach.

            At thirteen, she was the eldest of the Darcy children. She, like her father, had a passion for order and control. Like her mother, she was as stubborn as anything. She’d inherited both of her parents’ signature blue eyes, but her own were a cloudy grey-blue. Her hair, a dark brown that showed glimpses of red on occasion, mostly in the summer sun. She wore glasses just like her father; thick, dark frames rimming her blue eyes.

            They matched those of her middle brother, Peter, who, at eleven, was spirited like their mother and her sisters (mostly their Aunt Lydia). He had a passion for drama and was always acting out something, whether it was making a dramatic scene at the dinner table whilst he reenacted the events of his day, or dragging his entire family into the living room to watch him recite a new monologue his teacher had given him after play practice. Peter sure was lively which allowed Stella and their youngest brother Henry to be a bit more subdued.

            At eight, Henry was only a second-grader. He loved to read and worked hard in everything he did. Their parents always said he took after Darcy whenever he took on a difficult task. Stubborn and extremely perseverant, Henry could be found doing times tables or a spelling worksheet with his brow furrowed and the tip of his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth in concentration.

            Stella loved her brothers, and her parents as well. What she didn’t love all that much was school, well, middle school to be exact. It was just so trivial! Girls all making a fuss over clothes and makeup and who was more popular and then there’s the whole issue of boys. Stella didn’t even want to go there (they’re pigs!). And this stupid family tree project! I mean, family history? While the topic wasn’t the worst she’d ever been given, Stella found it silly to be given thirteen-year-olds (who were practically adults) a project more suited for her youngest brother.

            “Hmph,” Stella huffed, “If they want me to make a family tree, I’m going to do it the easy way: Google,”

            She opened her browser and clicked on the bookmark to the search engine. She quickly typed in her father’s name first: William F. Darcy.

            The results came up in half of a second and she scrolled down the page slowly.

            None of the results were anything new to her, ‘William F. Darcy, President and Founder of Pemberley Digitial Inc.’, ‘Interview with William F. Darcy of Pemberley Digital’, ‘William F. Darcy: The rise to the top’.

            It was all about his digital media company that he’d run for over a decade, since way before Stella had been born.

            “Gah, it’s all the same stuff I’ve heard before. I need something new, interesting,”

            Stella backspaced her way into a new search, typing just her last name in.

            ‘Darcy’ retrieved a few more articles about her father, a few links to some automobile websites advertisings a vehicle named D’Arcy, and then a strange image collection of the actor Colin Firth who was way before her time.

            “Weird,” Stella said to herself before backspacing again.

            “One last try,” She said quietly, typing in her mother’s name. She hit enter, biting her bottom lip and hoping for the best.

            ‘Elizabeth E. Darcy’ (The E stood for Estelle from which Stella had been named), reigned hundreds of pages of results. Stella scrolled through the first few links, all articles that linked her mother’s name to her father and his company. The next few talked about her mother’s own company, Bennet and Co., a digital management company, and the last few referenced her mother by a name only her father used: Lizzie.

            Stella clicked on the first link and was surprised when it brought her to YouTube. Suddenly a video showing a _much_ younger version of her mother began playing. Stella’s attention had been caught.

            She sat quietly as the video played, her mother a young woman she almost didn’t recognize. There was sass and feistiness that reminded her of herself. She watched as her Aunt Jane made an appearance and as her mother mocked her grandmother, and, well, she did have to admit the impression was pretty spot-on.

            The video was soon over and the page prepared to load the next one.

            Stella sat back in her chair thinking to herself. ‘Intriguing; why have I never seen these before?’

            The next video loaded and she saw both of her Aunts, Jane and Lydia, make appearances. Two videos turned into three, which turned into four, eight, sixteen, and soon enough Stella was knee-deep in confusion and Costume Theater to even notice how much time had passed.

            She was on episode 77 listening to her other Aunt, Gigi, sweet talk her mother when a nock on her bedroom door shook her out of her trance.

            “Stella? Everything okay in there? You’ve been holed up in your room all afternoon!” Her mother called.

            She quickly paused the video, not wanting her mother to hear the familiar voice.

            “Uh, yeah! I’m fine, mom, just trying to plow through this family tree project!” She called.

            “Alright, well if you need anything, you know where I live!” Her mom said.

            Stella smiled, that was her mom for you. She heard footsteps retreat down the hall and after a few extra seconds for good measure, she hit the spacebar and dove right back into the videos.

            An hour later she had gotten to episode 93 and she was fast asleep in her chair, the video was frozen on her screen with her mother donning the floppy hat that represented her grandmother.

            “Stell?” There was a knock at her door but she was in too deep a sleep to notice.

            The door to her bedroom opened after another knock and her Aunt Lydia entered.

            “Stella?” Lydia asked, looking at the sleeping figure. She smiled, “Just like her mom, she can sleep anywhere,” Lydia laughed.

            She walked over to the other side of the room and rested her hand on Stella’s shoulder, shaking her a bit.

            “Stell,” She said, “Stella-“ She glanced at her computer screen, her sister’s face frozen on it.

            “Shit,” Lydia whispered under her breath. Stella decided that was the perfect time to wake up and she jumped when she saw her aunt so close to her.

            “Aunt Lydia what are you doing here?” She asked confused, sitting up in the chair.

            “I’m here for dinner- Stella, how did you find these?” Lydia asked, concerned.

            Stella sat up straighter, remembering the videos. Her eyes widened, “Oh my god, I have so many questions! Aunt Lydia, why didn’t mom ever say anything? I mean, it was obviously a HUGE part of her life, my god it covers when she met dad, and did she really hate him that much? An-,”

            “Stella,” Lydia cut her off. Stella shrunk back, her Aunt was always the “cool” Aunt; she was never so forward.

            “I Google searched my mom for a school project,”

            “God, Stella! What were you thinking?” Lydia ran a hand through her hair, “You can’t just go Googling people!”

            Stella shrunk back more, “I’m sorry it was for my project,”

            Lydia looked over at Stella and her expression fell, her niece looked scared and worried and it was the first time Lydia feared she’d really upset her.

            She sat down on the ottoman in front of the chair and faced Stella.

            “Look, Stell, I’m sorry for yelling. You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just- your mom, she didn’t want you to see these until you were older,”

            Stella sat up. “But why? It’s such a HUGE part of her life! Why didn’t she want me to know? Is it because of how she acted toward Dad?”

            “No, well yes, but- I don’t know. Just- wait here,” Lydia stood up and left the room.

            “Aunt Lydia! Wait!” Stella called after her but gave up. She knew her Aunt had the upper hand here.

            A few minutes later Lydia returned with Lizzie, dragging her into the room while she protested.

            “Lydia! What are you doing, I was in the middle of something!”

            Lydia yanked her across the room and pointed to Stella’s computer screen.

            Lizzie’s face dropped and she let out an audible, “Shit,” before her hand flew to her mouth.

            “Sorry, sweetie, but how on earth did you find these?” Lizzie asked, still shocked.

            Stella stayed mum, looking to Lydia, “She Googled you,” Lydia offered.

            Lizzie looked at her daughter, confused.

            “It was for my project...” Stella said quietly.

            “Stell, honey, I’m sorry we didn’t tell you before, but we were just waiting until you were older,”

            “I get it, but-,” Stella stopped.

            “What is it?” Lizzie asked tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

            “Did you really hate dad?” She asked quietly.

            “Oh, sweetie, no, well, yes, but- no, no, I didn’t,”

            Stella smiled, “Good,”

            Lizzie smiled back at her daughter, “Let me just text your father to let him know he can take the boys out for pizza, and we’ll just have a girls night in. Okay?”

            Stella nodded happily, shutting her laptop and shifting in her chair.

            Suddenly Stella felt an arm around her and she was snuggled into her Aunt’s side.

            “Now Stella, let me tell you about the most awkward dance ever that occurred between your very own mom and dad-,”

            “Lydia!”

            And so the night went on; Stella listened to tales of her mother and father’s rollercoaster relationship and watched as her mother laughed, cried, and became mortified all to her Aunt’s amusement. She learned her lesson this time, she would definitely not be doing any more snooping/Googling in the near future, but she was sure glad she did it this time.

 


End file.
